Several people, who were arrested for spreading rumours on social media and instigating violence during the weeklong student movement for safer roads earlier this month, have confessed that they were instructed to do so by some of their seniors, or “Boro Bhais,” Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) have claimed.
As of August 11, DMP and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had arrested 97 people, mostly students of public and private universities, over the aforementioned charges, sources said.
DMP Deputy Commissioner (DC) (Media) Masudur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune they were charged with vandalism, spreading rumours, and provoking violence during the road safety movement, which began on July 29 after a speeding bus killed two college students on Dhaka’s Airport Road.
“But none of them are minors – as in students of schools, colleges or similar educational institutions. They are either university students or professionals,” he said.
Of the 97, a total 81 were arrested in connection with 43 cases filed under the Penal Code and the Special Powers Act, said Masudur, adding that the 16 others were arrested in eight cases filed under the ICT Act.
All of these cases were filled at different police stations in various divisions, including Ramna, Lalbagh, Wari, Motijheel, Tejgaon, Mirpur, Gulshan and Uttara, across the capital, according to dmpnews.org, the news portal of DMP.
CID (Organised Crime unit) Special Superintendent Mollah Nazrul Islam said a case under the ICT Act was filed with Paltan police on Wednesday, against two students who were arrested from East Rajabazar and Kamrangirchar on Tuesday night for spreading rumours. They were also being interrogated.
Sources in police said it was becoming clear that many of the arrestees were instructed by others to spread rumours in order to provoke the agitating students.
DMP cybercrime unit’s Assistant DC Nazmul Islam earlier told reporters that they had identified more than 1,000 profiles and pages on different social networking sites, mostly on Facebook, that had spread rumours during the student movement.
They also arrested three men - Touhidul Islam Tushar, Md Waliullah, and Md Ihsan Uddin - on August 7, in a case filed under the ICT Act with Ramna police.
Following interrogation, one of the arrestees confessed both to police and the court last week that he was told by a “Boro Bhai” to make such posts on social media and fuel the rumour train.
Several others arrested in cases under the ICT Act have also made similar confessions.
DC Alimuzzaman of the cybercrime unit told the Dhaka Tribune that it may take more time to identify all of the instigators. “We even have information that one of the pages where rumours were spread was being run from Saudi Arabia.”
“All of the culprits will brought to book,” he added.
After the deaths of the two college students on July 29, students of different schools and colleges had taken to the streets in protest, demanding punishment of those responsible for the deaths. The movement spread across the country over the next week.
Apart from blockading roads and enforcing traffic laws on their own, mostly peacefully, the demonstrating student had placed nine-point demands to the government, which later accepted them.
However, the students continued their movement on the streets, calling for immediate measures from the authorities.
However, violence marred the demonstrations on August 4 and 5 in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi, when police and alleged activists of the ruling party’s affiliate organizations became involved and clashed with students, while rumours, claims, and counter-claims on social media raised tensions.
